Water coming through the drainage holes at front of boat!

[Kb76]

Hiya, we are newbies to living aboard. We moved on only last week, although have been refitting her fir the past 6 weeks. As we've moved our stuff aboard and filled up the water tank we've found that the front of our boat is so low that water is coming through the drainage holes. At first this was only a bit but it now feels we have a constant pond in the front entrance of our boat. Anyone got any ideas how we can sort this? Do we need to ballist her more at the back ? When friends visited today the water rose to about an inch, which was quite concerning. All ideas appreciated! Thanks in advance :-)

[Guest]

Hiya, we are newbies to living aboard. We moved on only last week, although have been refitting her fir the past 6 weeks. As we've moved our stuff aboard and filled up the water tank we've found that the front of our boat is so low that water is coming through the drainage holes. At first this was only a bit but it now feels we have a constant pond in the front entrance of our boat. Anyone got any ideas how we can sort this? Do we need to ballist her more at the back ? When friends visited today the water rose to about an inch, which was quite concerning. All ideas appreciated! Thanks in advance :-)

It certainly sounds as if your boat needs re trimming, however it seems very strange that your cockpit drains are so close to the water line in the first place.

 

Gas locker drains yes, but cockpit drains?

 

Who built the hull?

[matty40s]

You are too low in the water. Most likely cause is possibly one of several, or a combination.

Your bilge may be full, look for inspection hatches in the floor.

Your bilge pump may not be working.

you may have too many possessions on too small a boat.

 

You may have a leak from a gas locker to your front deck, gas lockers quite often have water in when water tank is full.

[Robbo]

Ballast at the back will help especially if it looks too high at the back, if it doesn't remove some from the front.

 

When refitting it's always best to be able to get to the ballast so you can remove/add later.

[Kb76]

She was built by a Liverpool boat maker which I know some people are warey of but she had an excellent survey on the hull. I guess we need to get busy re trimming her tomorrow then, as we really don't want a pond onboard!

[Alan de Enfield]

Without trying to scaremonger too much I would suggest that you do not use the boat as it is at the moment. Any movement, or reduction in weight at the stern (ie using fuel), or person moving forward could be enough to make the water come in thru' your front doors.

 

Has the bottom been overplated ?

 

You may need to take up part of the floor to remove some of the ballast to counter-act the additional weight you have put in when fitting out.

 

I could be wrong but I think there is a section in the BSS that indicates the minimum level between any Hull-openings and the water line - I believe that it is 10". Try speaking to a surveyor or the BSS office. (I have certainly read it somewhere)

 

Try & find an experienced boater locally and encourage them to come and have a look.

[DeanS]

if you get out the boat and look at her from a distance...is the back end lower than the front end.

 

IT SHOULD BE.

Empty half your front water tank for now, to see if it helps while you decide where to move all the heavy stuff...but normally the weight of the engine lowers the back end anyway...

[Kb76]

The back end is definetly lower already and when we ran low on water the front end rose higher with no water getting in. We filled up again and the problem returned if this is more than a ballast issue then I would definetly empty some if the water tank.

 

Alan - The hull has not been overplated, we will head to a marina tomorrow and ask for more advice as well. Thanks

[jaywalker]

My 25year old boat has a similar fault, the cratch drain holes are only a couple of inches above the water when the water tank is full, level with the water if a couple of people are in the cratch.

When the boat is moving through the water the back end goes down and there is no water comes in.

Nowadays I dont fill the water tank and have a look every now and again just to be sure, although when I asked a similar question a few years ago the doom merchants nearly had me slashing my wrists.

Have a look at a few other boats, I did, and you will see it is not that uncommon. Still poor design though.

[Phil Ambrose]

I have the same issue with my 60ft Colecraft I get a little puddle about 4"x 3" on the port side when water tank is full, no chance it can enter the boat though as there is a 4" sill at the front doors.

Phil

[Alan de Enfield]

I knew I'd seen it in the BSS

 

To reduce the risk of your boat sinking if it keels over or is excessively weighed down, it's a good idea for privately owned boats to only have openings which are at a height of at least 250mm (10ins) above the waterline. Where openings are necessary below this level this risk can be reduced by ensuring that these openings are permanently and securely connected to ducts or pipes, which are watertight up to that level.

Self-draining cockpits may not be able to meet the 250mm (10ins) recommendation but, for privately owned boats, it's a good idea to stop water getting into other parts of the hull by incorporating non-return valves in the drains and/or having bulkheads or cills up to a height of 150mm (6ins).

 

As a matter of interest it is mandatory for 'Non-Private' boats (ie day hire, hire, commercial etc etc)

 

But dont just ballast the rear end to bring the front end 'up a bit' as you could have prolems with the weed-hatch levels.

 

A weed hatch, if not properly secured, can allow water into the bilges of a boat, which could ultimately cause it to sink. It's advisable for privately owned boats to have a secure and watertight weed hatch which reaches to at least 150mm (6ins) above the waterline, when the boat is loaded up as normal

Edited July 5, 2014 by Alan de Enfield

[Neil2]

If you look around quite a lot of boats have the well deck scuppers very close to the waterline, it's basically because people generally want boats that have as low a deck as possible, especially if it's a trad and the front well is the outside socialising area.

 

In the distant past many boats were built with a well deck actually below the waterline with no scuppers - the water drained into the bilge and was pumped out.

 

Occasionally some builders get it too close for comfort, as seems to be the case with your boat. Removing ballast is the solution, but what's the capacity of your water tank, ie do you really need to fill it? If the drains are above water level with the tank say half full that's probably as much water as anyone reasonably needs from day to day.

[Scholar Gypsy]

The back end is definetly lower already and when we ran low on water the front end rose higher with no water getting in. We filled up again and the problem returned if this is more than a ballast issue then I would definetly empty some if the water tank.

 

Alan - The hull has not been overplated, we will head to a marina tomorrow and ask for more advice as well. Thanks

 

Again, without wanting to scaremonger: depending on the shape of your bows you may find that you take on more water when the boat is moving tomorrow.

 

I say this because when our boat was first built it had a wooden foredeck and was allegedly self-draining. However at certain speeds the drain holes were below the water line. We solved the problem temporarily by sticking 2p pieces over the holes, and then more permanently by installing a steel foredeck and proper cill to the front doors...

[ditchcrawler]

It will definitely be a problem going up in narrow locks if its that close. How high is the front door cill?

[Tam & Di]

In the distant past many boats were built with a well deck actually below the waterline with no scuppers - the water drained into the bilge and was pumped out.

 

Occasionally some builders get it too close for comfort, as seems to be the case with your boat. Removing ballast is the solution, but what's the capacity of your water tank, ie do you really need to fill it? If the drains are above water level with the tank say half full that's probably as much water as anyone reasonably needs from day to day.

 

It certainly does sound like you should try to do something about it. If having a couple of friends aboard drops the fore end an inch you have very little leeway before water comes over the cill and into the main accommodation. It would be a problem at any time you travelled with enough speed to build up a bow wave, like on a river. I would certainly see what I could do to avoid this permanent puddle, which in itself will quickly lead to rust and corrosion. Being told that other boats have this problem would not make me more accepting of it. I think you need to get rid of some weight - either ballast or possessions.

[Kb76]

Thanks for all your help. We have re looked at our ballast which has helped significantly but not a full solution yet. We will be getting a professional to have a look to get their opinion as well. Thanks again

[Alan de Enfield]

One-way valves on the scupper drains would be one way to 'help' the situation

[twbm]

One-way valves on the scupper drains would be one way to 'help' the situation

 

or the holes have been fitted the wrong way round.

[Alan de Enfield]

twbm, on 06 Jul 2014 - 7:23 PM, said:

 

or the holes have been fitted the wrong way round.

 

Good thinking - cut them out and put the left hand side one in the right hand side and vice-versa. Should solve the problem.

 

Alternatively fit something like these - it wont 'cure the disease' but it will 'stop the symptoms', and keep the boat afloat whilst the root cause is identified and corrected.

 

http://www.thmarine.com/products/Aeration-and-Plumbing/Drain-Fittings/Scupper-Drains/Flush-Mount-Scupper-Valve-Assembly

 

 

There are a number of variations / alternatives available, these were just the first ones that came up on a Google search.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Alan de Enfield

[boots]

Can you post a picture?

 

For reference, we have a Liverpool boat and have not had any water come through the front well vents that I recall seeing. We do, however, get water occasionally come into the gaze locker when (and only when) underway

[Arthur Brown]

Definitely a plan to run the water tank at half level til it's sorted. review the underfloor, there may be water in there, there may be weights in there. Be very sure that the bilge is DRY then move the ballast weight, or remove it. Worst case plug the drains and fit a pump to take rain water away

[Bod]

What work have you done on the boat, before moving on?

 

Bod

[Kb76]

Thanks again for all your help. We thought about having some valves fixed and these look ideal. It's not a problem at the moment as the water tank now has less in, but we need to sort something out. I can post pictures but haven't got any to hand at mo and internet isn't reliable at the mo but will do soon

We haven't had work done on the boat as she had an excellent survey and we got her at a reasonable price. How do we get to the front ballast of the boat?

[MtB]

We haven't had work done on the boat as she had an excellent survey and we got her at a reasonable price. How do we get to the front ballast of the boat?

 

Hmmmmm maybe the vendors knew about this problem which is why it was cheap.

 

You get at the ballast by taking the floors up. No easy feat unless sparsely fitted out at the forward end.

 

 

MtB

[Alan de Enfield]

In your first post your said :

 

We moved on only last week, although have been refitting her fir the past 6 weeks

 

And now you say :

 

We haven't had work done on the boat